Job Discussion Forums

[rupert shellgame]

The usual apology if this has been covered elsewhere...I'd be happy to move the discussion there...

I haven't quite gotten used to seeing psychologically unstable Taiwanese teachers hit children a third their size. I probably won't, and eventually I'll have to put my foot down.

Another foreigner told me that after a year he told the Taiwanese teacher that "this is his class now" and that "there will be no more hitting."

This kid became my hero when he hit his teacher back and caused a very fruitful (for kids) national stir. http://youtube.com/watch?v=hDkhkMYXBAA
One of my students is a friend of the teacher's niece.

Thoughts anyone?

(please spare this forum the usual "but look at what great results it produces" argument, as if we're talking about an army)

[dangerousapple]

If you see it happening, and are ok with possibly getting fired, bring it up with your boss. Everyone needs to do their part. Whenever I hire staff, be it Chinese or foreign, I let them know very clearly that there is a "no hitting" policy in place at my schools.

I am currently going through the process of trying to file a complaint about some volunteers I witnessed verbally abusing a special-needs student last month. It's not an easy process, and I might not get the results I hope for, but at least I tried.

[rupert shellgame]

[quote]If you see it happening, and are ok with possibly getting fired, bring it up with your boss. Everyone needs to do their part. Whenever I hire staff, be it Chinese or foreign, I let them know very clearly that there is a "no hitting" policy in place at my schools.

I am currently going through the process of trying to file a complaint about some volunteers I witnessed verbally abusing a special-needs student last month. It's not an easy process, and I might not get the results I hope for, but at least I tried.[/quote]

Good for you, it is good to know that someone is trying to fight this somewhere. Apropos special needs students, I have been hearing a lot about how they are treated really poorly until someone finally realizes that they do have special needs. I have one 14-yr old girl who has a learning disability, and she is the sweetest kid on the planet. But I was told that she took a few beatings before someone finally woke up and realized that she couldn't help it. It just makes me sick.

[BJ]

Erm, I was brought up in a country where children were canned, and whiped with the belt. I remember my head techer administering 6 of the best on my hands. Disciple was fierce for sure. These days in my Country children run riot in the classroom and socially, just wondering if the outlawing of punishment had any effcet there.

Whilst I have never hit a child, and always step in if I see a chinese teacher abusing children, I do wonder if punishment for misbehaving is correct. Without fear of consequenc how far will children go?

In the news just this week 3 teenages have been in the courts charged with the muder of a yound mentaly challenge man. The wanted to see who could knock him out first.

I suppose the British are reaping the whirlwind?

[Dr_Zoidberg]

I would argue that it isn't the lack of the strap that's the problem, but rather the lack of parenting.

[jwbhomer]

[BigWally]

[BJ]

Whilst I agree parenting could be a large issue, I think peer group pressure is a bigger one.
One line which is often heard in ENgland from young children is "yeah and what can you do about it".
Perhaps its my age, but I remember when I was seven, my brother and his friends all 16+ were playing football on the local playing fields which belonged to a school. Summer vacation and the field is private property. A policman on foot called them over, dropping me ina sand pit, my brother told me to stay there, then all of the teenages walked over tot he policeman, were told off and warned not to play there again. These days the policman would be laughed at and taunted, possible attacked.

Parents have lost the soial battle and support of other adults, who no longer interveen when they see something wrong for fear of being attacked by gangs of youths under 16. Try sitting on a bus at the end of a school day, and watch, bricks thrown at the bus windows, swearing in the street, fighting and watch the adults say nothing or do nothing. What do you do when a 10 year old girl puts her face in front of yours and tells you to F off? (been there done that) - in my day the adult would grab the child by the ear, force march them to their parents house, where you would hear the sound of shouting and yelps of pain. Today you sit there and do nothing as there is nothing you can do except try and reason with the unreasonable, who then get cocky because they just told a 6' 4 280 lb man to F off with no repercussions.

Its not bad parenting so much as a bad social society and lack of adequate control by adults over children.

caned - so sorry, but I do like peaches canned.

[pest2]

[pest2]

From what I've seen in Taiwan, the issue doest seem like such a big deal here... In korea, its the teachers who whack the little ones with vacuum cleaner hoses and sticks for any and eveything bad... Except you cant do that in public schools there anymore (recently)... Of course, naturally, violence breeds violence and I often saw kids in the halls of the middle schools and even elementary schools poundind the bejesus out of eachother.

[trukesehammer]

OMG! I know this schoool and I know this teacher!

If it's the same place I'm thinking, this event happened in a famous private high school in Zhanghua. Every day, we foreign teachers would walk by that classroom and witness this teacher wailing away on the kids. We complained to our bosses and to various government agencies but were nicely told to mind our own business and the all-too-famous mei banfa. Moreover, local teachers who tried to report him were reprimanded and fired.

I sure am glad the students finally took matters into their own hands! I never thought I'd hear myself say this (or see myself write this) but thank God for YouTube.

[Miyazaki]

The kid is probably a little pr*ck and desevered a good thrasing. He looks like a puke. The problem with the teacher is that he didn't haul the kid's ass out of class and take him to admin to send him home. He has probably given the teacher a ton of grief and the teacher finally lost it.

[BJ]

Well said M, classrooms are becoming battlefields, and in ENgland teachers are quiting in droves. The government is NOW thinking of reversing the policy on punishment, as classes become unruly, Metal detectors in school doorways because of knives in school, sounds like it is getting like the states.

[trukesehammer]

Heck! If I had a quarter for every time somebody said I looked like a "little puke who deserves a good thrashing" I'd be a millionnaire by now. But now look at me, a big PhDeed puke who deserves a good thrashing. Heh-heh-heh!

But to get back to the point, I knew this teacher personally and can tell you from experience, he is a JERK who beat students for even the smallest infractions. Just like with the nuns back in Catholic school, we often wondered if he hates kids so much, why the heck did he become a teacher in the first place?

Then again, there is the sadism factor.

Ultimately, my heart remains with the student. In fact, he could be one of my cute little 7th graders who eventually grew up, got sick of being manhandled, and finally said enough is enough!

[trukesehammer]